Geary Man Given New Life with Artificial Heart

A Geary man has something no other person in Oklahoma has and it's keeping him alive. Doctors at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center have removed the man's heart, and replaced it with an artificial heart.

Tuesday, September 28th 2010, 5:23 pm

By: News 9


By Ed Murray, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A Geary man has something no other person in Oklahoma has and it's keeping him alive. Doctors at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center have removed the man's heart, and replaced it with an artificial heart.

INTEGRIS is one of only 13 institutions in the U.S. that can give this one of a kind device to extremely ill heart failure patients to buy them time until a matching donor heart becomes available for transplantation.

Troy Golden was born with a genetic condition that has basically destroyed his heart over the years. He has been at the top of the transplant list since January, but with no matches his time was more or less up.

"Someone remarked on the noise one day and I said that's going to be music to my ears because I know everything's working right when I hear that," said Darla Golden, Troy's wife.

That something is not a heart pump, but a total artificial heart placed in the 45-year-old's chest during a complex six hour surgery, less that two weeks ago.

"It is a spectacular sight to look into an empty chest with a patient who is still alive. It's remarkable," said Dr. Doug Horstmanshof, Co-Director of INTEGRIS Advanced Cardiac Care Program. "We are completely amazed. And I don't think any of us in this field lose the wonder at what we are able to do with the technology now a days."

"It makes you anxious to think that this is your heart," said Troy Golden, the Total Artificial Heart recipient. "But the alternative was more scary I guess."

Right now, Troy's "heart" is powered by a 400 pound device known as Big Blue. He decided to join a pioneering study to test a new portable 13 pound device. The Freedom driver will allow Troy to become the second artificial heart recipient in the country to leave the hospital.

"It's a chance to get our life back and we're very grateful for that," said Darla Golden. "Anything from your typical day at home to a family vacation is a possibility and that's amazing to us."

"What am I looking forward to most? Preaching. Secondly fishing. maybe golf," said Troy.

And the pastor of the New Life Assembly of God in Geary said he definitely has a message to deliver.

"I've written lots of sermons while I've been in here over the last several months," Troy said. "What will my message be? There is always hope. No matter where you're at in your life. No matter what the circumstance, there is always hope."

The 10 year clinical trial of the artificial heart has produced a 79 percent success rate of patients surviving to a successful transplant, the highest of any approved device in the world.

If all goes well, Troy Golden should be going home with his innovative portable power system in the next 10 to 14 days.

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